I just got back from a book club about this book in which a few folks mentioned wishing the book had a glossary for some of the indigenous terms that Good Stab used throughout his entries and more context about the true historical events that were mentioned.

It got me thinking a lot about how this was a book about the erasure of indigenous culture (through genocide and through Good Stab losing his external facing culture unless he fed on Pikuni). I, personally, loved the journey of learning some of the indigenous terms and diving more into the true atrocities. The lack of translations for indigenous terms starts to feel like an intentional choice to remind us that one of the first parts of colonial violence is to strip a culture of their language. I like to think this was a way for SGJ to call out the American education system for continuing to erase indigenous cultures, and encouraging readers to sit in that uncomfortable reality.

Would love others thoughts! Did yall enjoy not having a glossary? Miss it?